june and the blond boy

The Return Of Russell Buckins

ᴊᴜɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏɴᴅ ʙᴏʏ

James caught up with me after I left the diner, walking down the quaint sidewalks of Berkeley.

"Hey, you okay? What was that back there?" he chuckled softly, tucking his blond hair behind his ear as he walked beside me.

"Uh, I just got a really bad stomach ache." I waved him off dismissively, holding my stomach once more.

"But, you were in the bathroom just before that..." he blinked at me sideways.

"Yeah, I was just talking to Hayden." I shrugged, hoping he'd just let it go.

He didn't, instead, he let out a snort in a laughing manner. "You guys fight or somethin'?" he pushed.

"No, James. We didn't fight." I snapped, sending him a sideways glare. The third world war happening inside my stomach was not lightening my mood at all as he continued interrogating me.

"Jeez, sorry." he widened his eyes, holding his hands up in surrender.

"You shouldn't be so curious about what goes on in the ladies' room." I shook my head, eyeing him up and down briefly before looking in the direction I was walking.

"Can't help myself." he shrugged, grinning at me and eyeing me up and down too, only in a different way. I scoffed. "You're a perv."

"Is that why you left? 'Cause of whatever you and Hayden were talking about?" he asked again.

"No— kinda— sorta, I don't know! Just shut up about it."

Both Hayden and James were my closest friends. If they ever hooked up, how would it effect my friendship with them? Not that I care who James dates— or Hayden, of course... but I'd constantly be third wheeling, and it'd surely take both of their attention away from me. It's not like I'm some kind of attention whore, but they're my only friends that I feel 100% comfortable with, and I feel that them dating could possibly interfere with our bonds. Even if Hayden specified that they wouldn't be dating, it'd be ten times more awkward knowing that they bone each other on the down-low whenever they're bored and hormonal.

"Hello?" James snapped his fingers in my face, pulling me from my thoughts. I was sure he'd asked me another five times about what happened in the bathroom.

"Are you seriously not gonna tell me?" he grumbled, finally averting his attention to the direction he was walking.

"It's—" I struggled, pausing and sighing out of annoyance.

"She just thought I had a crush on you, and stuff..."

I should've smacked myself in the face right then and there.

James cocked his head back in surprise, instantly killing the cat with his curiosity.

"Uh..." he chuckled awkwardly. "Well, you don't, right? Have— have a crush on me?" he looked at me with wide eyes.

"No! No... she's just weird, she thought I did..." I rambled.

"You don't? Okay, yeah, good... 'cause, like, that'd be weird... and stuff..." he muttered, looking away.